Club Blades & Gloves

[Fencergrl]

I need to do some club shopping and need the advice of the more experienced coaches/ club owners/ armorers.

1) I need more club epees. Can anyone make recommendations on what blades they find withstand a fair amount of abuse without breaking the bank?

2) Do you find the rubber practice tips work? Or should I make all blades working blades?

3) What do you recommend for durable gloves?

Thanks in advance for your recommendations.

[aamct2]

Hi! I am a college student and help run/coach a college club, so I only have about a year's worth of experience doing that (3 years fencing in general). Here's what I've seen though.

I'm an épée fencer and I have had really good luck with the STM blades. The basic ones aren't expensive, but have held up really well in my practice weapons.

My own rubber tips on my practice weapons have lasted for over a year. Other ones I've had to replace on the club blades (using club tips) haven't held up so well. I think part of the problem is that the blunted end to attach the tip to is smaller on the club blades than on my own weapons. It's easier to put on the tip, but they tend to come off or get ripped off in bouts when the opponent's blade catches.

As for club gloves, I'm not sure. I'm still trying to figure that one out myself. I do make sure that whatever uniform equipment I get for the club, it's washable.

I hope this helps.

~aamct2

[SJCFU#2]

Here are my recommendations, based on a small collegiate club:

1) I favor standard STM blades for club weapons but you may also want to consider the non-FIE Leon Paul blades for épée. They have a different feel that many people don't like but they also have a reputation for durability.

2) I wouldn't bother with rubber practice tips. My feeling is that electric blades are fine for use in practice - simply screw an old electric tip onto the end and it's ready to go (and we have lots of old tips lying about), plus I can always go back and wire the blade later. As a result I haven't ordered a dry blade for club use in over a decade, and while there are a few old dry foil blades lying about, and maybe even a couple of dry épée blades, but once they break they will all be replaced with electric blades.

3) For club gloves, I generally favor the vendor's inexpensive house brand washable gloves and treat them as consumable items. That way we can order various sizes for both left and right hands.

[Fencergrl]

Thanks for the advice so far... keep it coming!

[erooMynohtnA]

Originally Posted by Fencergrl

I need to do some club shopping and need the advice of the more experienced coaches/ club owners/ armorers.

1) I need more club epees. Can anyone make recommendations on what blades they find withstand a fair amount of abuse without breaking the bank?

If you're looking at electric, I'd say LP non-FIE. If it's just practice blades, I would go with whatever is cheap.

Since LP blades have a different feel, you may not want to use them, because if it's a beginner class, they may not want to switch to heavier blades later, and if it's an intermediate class, they may not like using a light blade like the LP. So my vote would be LP blades, but with that caveat. If not LP, I would go with StM. I would not go with Absolute blades.

I maintain that people can't complain about club weapons until they get their own, and once they have their own, why should they complain?

2) Do you find the rubber practice tips work? Or should I make all blades working blades?

If you're starting out and ordering all new stuff, yeah, I'd get a few practice epee blades, but just for the rank beginners. People are going to break them, and it would be better that they break practice stuff.

If you already have an established stockpile, it's a different story. I like to demote older electric epees to practice epees. You know the type, the handle isn't comfortable, the blade is kinked, it no longer works, and the tip is corroded. You just wish it would snap in half anyway. That way you don't need to buy practice blades or use new electric blades for practice.

3) What do you recommend for durable gloves?

I have been really impressed with the $11 fnet beginner gloves. In fact, I would say they're the best budget glove I've seen, and they're the best glove on the market for the price. They run just a touch smaller than what I'm used to, and they only come in whole sizes, so if you have someone who's a 7.5, get an 8 and not a 7. (We ordered a few glove/weapon combos for beginners, and the weapons were also pretty nice. If you're thinking practice epees, I would look into fencing.net for that too.)

I am wholly unimpressed with Blade and Absolute gloves, and those cost more.

The Fencing Post house brand is pretty good too. And BG/SG is all right, depending on the glove.

[Fencergrl]

Originally Posted by erooMynohtnA

Since LP blades have a different feel, you may not want to use them, because if it's a beginner class, they may not want to switch to heavier blades later, and if it's an intermediate class, they may not like using a light blade like the LP.

A lighter blade might be better for the smaller kids who want to use a full-sized blade. I have a number of those kids. They don't like giving up the length advantage.

I've also wanted to try the LP blade myself. So I think I might get a few, along with some StM... as everyone is recommending them.

Thanks for the glove suggestion. I was planning on placing an order with Craig and with BG (they have a cheap price on foam sabres). If I can get Craig to match their prices.... well... let's just say I rather get everything from one place.

[VorpalCat]

I'd recommend requiring everyone to purchase their own glove instead of using a communal stash of gloves. It's a cheap, easy way to cut down on the cooties being passed around by shared equipment. Yeah, the club can buy washables but the gloves probably aren't going to be washed between every use.

[Tomas N]

I'll echo the comments about LP epee, demoting old blades to practice status, and buying electric blades, even if you just put old tips on them. I also buy washable gloves but never wash them and end up throwing them out after a couple of years. This year is my first experience with some young kids (8 year olds) coming to the club, and I find that they can't handle a regular size epees and foils, regardless of how light. From my limited experience, I'd stick with shorter blades for young fencers.

Tomas

[Fencergrl]

Originally Posted by Tomas N

This year is my first experience with some young kids (8 year olds) coming to the club, and I find that they can't handle a regular size epees and foils, regardless of how light. From my limited experience, I'd stick with shorter blades for young fencers.

With kids that age, smaller blades are the way to go. I also use foils for anyone who finds the epees too heavy. It's easy to rig the cords going to the scoring machine with a paper clip, so it works on the epee setting and lames are not required.

[DangerMouse]

Originally Posted by SJCFU#2

Here are my recommendations, based on a small collegiate club:

1) I favor standard STM blades for club weapons but you may also want to consider the non-FIE Leon Paul blades for épée. They have a different feel that many people don't like but they also have a reputation for durability.

2) I wouldn't bother with rubber practice tips. My feeling is that electric blades are fine for use in practice - simply screw an old electric tip onto the end and it's ready to go (and we have lots of old tips lying about), plus I can always go back and wire the blade later. As a result I haven't ordered a dry blade for club use in over a decade, and while there are a few old dry foil blades lying about, and maybe even a couple of dry épée blades, but once they break they will all be replaced with electric blades.

3) For club gloves, I generally favor the vendor's inexpensive house brand washable gloves and treat them as consumable items. That way we can order various sizes for both left and right hands.

1. I second this. We have been using the non-FIE StM blades for the past few years and they hold up reasonably well. If we had the budget, I would upgrade all of them to LP non-FIE epee blades, which last 5x longer for 2x the money.

2. By switching to non-electric weapons for much of practice I've found two things have happened with our club. The first is that our expenditures and armoring time were cut in half. The second is that the beginners really started to figure out how to make the point stick. We still use electric weapons for anyone planning to compete, but the recreational fencers use the dry weapons for club practice. The key to keeping the rubber tips on is to use a little bit of glue inside them when you put them on.

3. I second the comment on gloves. We buy the $10 Absolute gloves and they have held up quite well.

[Purple Fencer]

Gloves....*cough cough* Mine.....drop me a line...I might be able to work a deal.

[Fencergrl]

Again, I appreciate all the feedback. This has made my decision making process much easier.